How'd it go today?

[pete mctree]

More worksites are banning smart phones over here. Some of the kids seem really lost without them which is quite worrying

 

[stig]

I had a weird week.
We were hired to travel all over the country and pick seed cones from Red alder.

All the Red alder planted here the last 3-4 decades come from the same seed source and a bad one at that.
So it was decided to try to create a more fitting specimen for Danish forestry.
Particularly now, when we have mostly lost the ash trees and need something that'll grow in the moist places they have left behind as habitat.
So 3 years ago a bunch of people from the University of Copenhagen and the State forest serviceselected some of the oldest, finest specimens of Red alder as donors for the 4 new seed plantations that will be planted on 4 different kinds of soil.

This year they finally set seeds and we were called upon.

I've done this kind of collecting work for the University of Copenhagen a lot before, usually it is easy, fun work and they pay really well.

This time was different!

Alder grows in swamps and we've just had the wettest month in recorded history.
We spent 5 days from dawn till dusk dragging our climbing gear and various sample bags through the mud, constantly having to pull each other up when we got stuck, while carrying a GPS device and trying to find the marked trees.
We had to stick a plate under the big shot to keep it from going 3-4 feet into the ground when the elastic was pulled back.
We left the bathroom of the first hotel, we stayed in looking like a disaster area, then we learned to find a hose, before hitting a hotel.

We did find all the trees and pulled the job off on time, much to the amazement of the University folks.

It was not all bad. We got to visit some interesting really out of the way woods ( Swamps!) had a lot of good food and stayed in some fine places, courtesy of the University.

 

[Tree09]

It's hard to strip naked at the door when you stay in a hotel

 

[lxskllr]

You need to stay at the hotels that charge by the hour. They're used to it.

 

[BeerGeek]

So, was able to get in the maple & apple takedowns with the new brush monkeys this weekend. Mostly good, as they showed up on time, listened and seemed to pick up instructions/comments from me in the tree, didn't complain and showed eagerness to work. I had them studying for about 10 days beforehand a bunch of TreeMuggs knot videos, the good groundman sheet and a few other vids/links to rigging scenarios. Both will be available when I bag the current employer, so I'll be able to hit the ground running with a fairly well trained staff, Chipper should be here Wednesday, so that day is approaching fairly quickly...

 

[Fiddler]

Spent the afternoon in boots, slogging around in a flooded woods full of thorn bushes recovering golf balls. got about 2/3rds done and figured I'd better quit...4pm is about hunting time for the bow hunters and I was on conservation club property that is next to our driving range.

 

[FireFighterZero]

It would suck getting arrowed collecting 50 cent golf balls used in a leisure activity.

Wouldn't be much of a warriors death!

 

[Tree09]

Lol i do the same, walking up the creek that runs through the backyard. Just down from me is one of the nicest and most expensive open to the public golf courses in the state, so all i find are pro v1s for the most part about 5 bucks a ball. Might see if i can sell some

 

[FireFighterZero]

Yeah...sell em back to the goofy bastards!

No way I would hit a 5 dollar bill with a stick and then walk away.

You would have to be half an asshole to do that!

 

[lxskllr]

I pick them up on jobsites sometimes. I see way more than I pick up. I gave a bunch to someone once so he could hit them back into some other woods. I like hitting them using a pick handle like a baseball bat :^D

 

[Tree09]

Lol Jim, that's exactly what i do when i play, but i get them for free lol

 

[Fiddler]

Our range balls go for 80 cents each right now. Filled a couple 5 gallon buckets in about 3 hours today. Somewhere around 7-800 of them.

We sell used course balls back to customers all year

 

[Tree09]

Nice!!! There's so many in the creek here i usually fill a 5 gallon bucket in about 15 minutes hahahahahahahahaha. I might need to look into this....

 

[Fiddler]

I can usually get more faster than I did but the leaves have half fallen and the grass is two to three feet high in a lot of places...

You might just sell them to a course (maybe a smaller/cheaper one) and they will in turn sell them to customers.

We have a few folks who collect them during winter or in early spring and turn the in for free range practice...

 

[Tree09]

Thanks man, I'm gonna look into that

 

[pantheraba]

Don't go diving in ponds to get them. I read of a rescue diver (Public Safety like I do) that went diving in a golf course pond to retrieve balls. He came down with a hard to diagnose medical condition that killed him within a few days. It was from the accumulated pesticides in the water from the golf course maintenance program. He was dead in a hurry.

 

[Tree09]

I have to wear mud boots, that's all. That's terrible someone died from that.

 

[lxskllr]

Do you know it was pesticides? You guys got that brain eating amoeba going on down south there.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Probably NOT in that poisoned water!!!

 

[treebilly]

Pro v 1 is my ball of choice. Haven’t played in years and was never very serious or good at it. I could drive over or around any hazard with my pro v 1 ball. Played a whole season with the same ball. Never lost it. That’s why it is my favorite. It was a good excuse to leave work at 4:30 Monday night for a few years. That ball is still in my bag. Might have to get it out sooner or later

 

[flushcut]

Last time I played was for a bachelor party 18 holes with a Big Shot. I out drove everybody in my group but I just drank beer when it came to the short game.

 

[pantheraba]

Probably NOT in that poisoned water!!!

Great answer. It was pesticides, LexusKiller...so the autopsy determined. The brain-eating thing...I have not heard of PSD folks dealing with that yet. Hope it stays rare.

 

[Jonny]

Last time I played was for a bachelor party 18 holes with a Big Shot. I out drove everybody in my group but I just drank beer when it came to the short game.

That sounds awesome! I could definitely enjoy that. Putting might be a bitch lol.
Started playing disc golf with the chick and the kids, very fun and relaxing. Some people are crazy with the cash they spend on gear for it, and walking around the park with duffel bags full of frisbees, we just use straight mid weight discs.

 

[Tree09]

The start of a dual rope grcs thing. This will allow me to run 2 ropes with one winch, mainly for horizontal use for redneck craning and yarding, probably not lowering use but we'll see (i would probably add springs to hold the ratchet if so). These strap winches will hold the load, the things on top will be jam cleats to quickly tie off. The winch will be behind them. Still need to build a bunch on it, including an attempted self tailer idea I've have for awhile that I've never seen done, so it probably won't work i will probably add a bar so the drill can be held in place with a foot switch, which might work better in the first place.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Crikey! That's awesome, mate!